Agree with all of the above, but l do have my doubts about Adam Armstrong. I get that we need to play him to help him realise his potential and to cover the likely eventuality of Broja not being here, but l do think we need to be thinking about finding someone better than Adam Armstrong because l just don't see his potential. Its okay to have lots of attempts in the Championship and find the net on a few occasions, but in the EPL you don't get that many chances. Therein, l think lies the problem - his lack of composure when the opportunity arises. I do want him to succeed, but am not seeing it.
"A few" = 28 in 40 games last season I get you, and I'm not truthfully expecting him to become the next Shearer any time soon. But the fact is, a club our size can't afford to give up on a 15m signing after half a season. Ralph agreed to sign him, so Ralph has to put more faith in him and find a way to make him more effective. Maybe running around like a blue-arsed fly trying to press defenders for the whole game isn't the way.
Agreed, though I think in the summer our wish list reads - CB Goalkeeper 10 Striker Which doesn't sound cheap!
Priority for me is the number 10. In fact I'd sacrifice the two of the other three if it meant we could spunk an extra large amount on somebody that's gonna make a significant difference to our attacking play.
True. No complaints from me about yesterday. But I'm still pissed off about the line ups against Coventry and West Ham, even though we won both.
FFS. If it was a league game I could understand it but it was an FA Cup QF. TBH I'd be happy to get shot of him if we could get 15-20mill for him.
Not sure I agree that failing to hit the target from good chances is causing problems but there we go. Yeah we had more chances in the first half. Imagine one of the strongest teams in the world coming on strongly in the latter stages of the match. We've kind of gone full circle here as that was my entire point in the first place. Our best chances of winning that match was to get ourselves a lead to defend. Ralph ruined that opportunity by starting with no forward of PL quality. I honestly find it baffling the lengths people are going to defend this as if leaving your best striker out of the biggest game of the season is standard practice which happens almost all of the time.
Sort of ties in to him sarcastically clapping fans too. Sounds like his time is coming to an end here. Might start a new thread actually.
I'm not really defending it. I'm just accepting the reality that there is a bigger picture now to team selection. Ralph works the forwards so hard they cannot last 90 minutes. 16 players are used in a cup tie so it gets down to the question we were all asking before the game. Do we start with Broja and Che or Shlong and Adarma? I would rather see Broja and Che coming on late when the game is finely balanced, as opposed to the others. So we're sort of agreeing who the better strikers are. I think there would well have been a complete meltdown on here had we subbed Che and Broja for Shane and Adam , only to go on and lose the game 1-4. FWIW, I think my starting preference would have been Che and Long. Last season, we had virtually nothing to bring on from the bench (other than a few promising academy players). Now we have decent backups (as opposed to the world class Citeh subs) in every position. Whether we agree with him or not, Ralph will use 22 players reasonably regularly throughout the season. to keep giving them chances to show up and to keep them motivated. It will be even better next season when we inevitably bring in 2 or 3 players better than what we currently have. We just have to convince ourselves to enjoy the ride.
Wages saved on Fraser and Long will help. And am I right that Redmond, Ely and Djenepo are all out of contract next summer? Could be an opportunity to sell at least one of them this summer. (I'm not saying that I want to sell Ely, but even with only a season left, his current market value is surely higher than it's ever been with us.) (Theo also out of contract next summer too, but I'm ruling out anyone actually paying money for him this summer.)
Picking up and running with some of the recent comments in this thread, I was wondering if anyone felt that there would be quite an exodus of players this summer? I concur that Bednarek looks to be on his way out but think he will only be one of a number I can see leaving the club. The tempting targets for other clubs will undoubtedly be JWP, Stuart Armstrong, Livramento and Salisu. However, I think the both Djnepo and Diallo might be forced on the way out in the summer. I cannot see Walcott remaining either and you wonder if Redmond is in Ralph's long term future. Jack Stephens looked like he had matured in to a really decent central defender back in the beginning of the season and, having been injured, he seems to have returned to his previous form. You wonder what Yann Valery has done to constantly find himself behind Stephens in the pecking order. The question over Adam Armstrong is intriguing but I have to say that I think he is a good player. He looks technically gifted and has been unfortunate both with getting a starting place and then exploiting the opportunities when they have been given. My perception is that Ralph does not feel Armstrong has lived up to his potentil and I have a nasty feeling we will cash him in come the summer. I could see him being the kind of quality forward who will bag the necessary goals for a Championship promotion push. Part of me thinks that he should be given a longer run in the squad by Ralph whilst the other part is convinced that Ralph has made his opinion up already. I would not be the least bit surprised if he is moved on. It already seems a given that Fraser Forster will be leaving the club in the summer. I feel that the starting eleven come August will be markedly different and that Ralph will be looking for new talent with whom he can push the team forward. I could see about 5-7 players leaving over the summer.
We’re not going to sell Armstrong after 1 season. We’ve invested a lot in him and he hasn’t exactly raised his stock. Where is this talk about Bednarek being out of the door already? It’s news to me.
So, where you think we gonna be after 38 games then? Think your 40-44 may be correct. Mind you, you didnt say which international break Also, reading back through this, when on our half decent run, there were lots of comments about where are the Ralph outers. They seem fairly quiet after the last 6 games or so. Funny old game.
Presently I think we're going to struggle to beat last season's total. Still wouldn't sack Ralph, but as you allude to, I can't understand any fan who still thinks Ralph is all that. Great coach at times, but then truly awful for long periods too.
